The atmosphere froze for a moment.
Xu Sanyu almost started singing "I shouldn't be here, I should be under the car". He finally heard Jing Jiujiu speak from the front.
The youth's voice was slightly bewildered, with a hint of resentful grievance as he asked softly: "So you're blaming me now?"
Jing Jiujiu rarely complained openly about others.
He seemed to hate so subtly it was barely noticeable.
So his love had always been just as subtle.
"...Yes." Bai Yuhuai squeezed out a word from his throat, gripping Jing Jiujiu's hand so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand slightly bulged.
Xu Sanyu didn't know what had gone wrong in that previous conversation, and was anxiously scratching his head in the back.
But his discomfort was nothing compared to the others.
Xu Sanyu looked up and saw the bracelet on Bai Yuhuai's wrist spin a few more times. Bai Yuhuai's expression seemed unchanged, but Xu Sanyu felt like he could faintly hear some ghostly howling, as if something was burning.
This version of Bai Yuhuai actually scared him even more.
But Bai Yuhuai soon loosened his grip a bit and said quietly, "Go tell Director Gong I'll be back on set tomorrow."
Xu Sanyu dazedly agreed, finally feeling like he could breathe easier, and hurried upstairs to find Director Gong.
Bai Yuhuai pursed his lips.
He didn't know how Jiujiu would react to this. Anger? Displeasure? Unable to accept it?
No matter how much he despised that Ancient Castle Evil God, he couldn't change the fact that it was once an impurity separated from his own body.
Jiujiu's thoughts were always unpredictable... Bai Yuhuai couldn't fully understand them either.
This was a moment Bai Yuhuai had never experienced before.
There were very few things in this world that could stump him. Whether it was being a Taoist master or entering the industry as an actor. No matter what he did, it seemed like he was born for it. So off-camera, he was always calm and indifferent, without unnecessary words or expressions.
Except when it came to Jing Jiujiu.
An indescribable irritation and melancholy tangled in Bai Yuhuai's mind.
Along with it came a hint of disgust towards his former self.
Jing Jiujiu hadn't spoken for a long time.
Bai Yuhuai couldn't hold back anymore and said hoarsely, "...Let's go back for a bit? You and me."
Jing Jiujiu: "...Mm."
He paused, then said softly, "Bring Xu Sanyu along."
Bai Yuhuai frowned, really not wanting to add a third wheel to complicate the already complex situation.
Jing Jiujiu: "...He might be scared."
If he and Bai Yuhuai left.
Besides Xu Sanyu, there wouldn't be any normal people left here.
Well, although he and Bai Yuhuai weren't exactly normal either.
Hearing that he still had energy to worry about Xu Sanyu, Bai Yuhuai gave a low "Mm" in response. After answering, he felt that his usual way of replying was a bit too terse.
Would Jiujiu...
Bai Yuhuai wasn't a pessimist by nature.
But at this moment, it was like a virus had infected his mental processes, uncontrollably branching out into various thoughts.
His eyelid twitched.
He even imagined Jing Jiujiu one day getting completely fed up with his cold demeanor, turning around and sweetly calling someone else "big brother" instead.
Once he started thinking like this, it was impossible to stop.
When Xu Sanyu came back, he found Bai Yuhuai's expression even colder and gloomier, looking utterly flustered, to say the least.
"B-Bai ge?"
"Young master?"
Xu Sanyu was really panicking now.
Hadn't they been doing unspeakable things just yesterday? I saw it with my own eyes! That huge hickey on Bai ge's neck!
Now... who was going to dump whom?
"Drive," Bai Yuhuai said.
Xu Sanyu hurried to do so.
When Xu Sanyu brought the car around, Bai Yuhuai took the driver's seat instead.
"You've been tired enough these past two days, let me drive," Xu Sanyu said worriedly.
Bai Yuhuai fastened his seatbelt. "If you drive, we won't get out of here even in three days."
Xu Sanyu was stunned.
Jing Jiujiu said softly, "Look out the window."
Xu Sanyu quickly turned to look outside.
But the hot air from his breath immediately fogged up the window, making the glass blur. Xu Sanyu had to quickly reach out and wipe the glass.
As the glass gradually cleared, half of a bloody face pressed against it, falling right into Xu Sanyu's line of sight.
"Oh no, I'm blind, I can't see anything!" Xu Sanyu tightly shut his eyes.
Even Jing Jiujiu was struck by how ugly it was.
He frowned slightly, wanting to burrow into Bai Yuhuai's arms, but stopped himself. He simply closed his eyes.
Xu Sanyu didn't know such techniques, and stared blankly at all the horrifying sights visible through that piece of glass.
Countless ghosts were walking shoulder to shoulder towards the film studio.
They moved with fanatical fervor, as if on a pilgrimage, showing no signs of fatigue or pain.
How could Xu Sanyu have ever seen such a scene before?
He clung to the car window, his body shaking. He almost didn't dare to look anymore, but people are strange like that - the more afraid you are, the more you can't help but keep staring intently.
Xu Sanyu tremblingly took out a cigarette and lighter, but suddenly glanced back at Jing Jiujiu in the rear seat.
The young master was still sitting there with noble bearing.
Xu Sanyu had no choice but to put the cigarette away again.
As soon as he finished this action and raised his head again, Xu Sanyu was nearly shocked out of his skin.
A thick fog had gradually risen in the film studio, quickly engulfing all the buildings within it.
"B-Bai ge! There's no road ahead!" Xu Sanyu cried out.
Jing Jiujiu's eyes snapped open at the shout.
But Bai Yuhuai's face showed no change in emotion. He only quickly glanced back and said to Jing Jiujiu, "Don't be afraid." After a pause, he even added: "Jiujiu, don't be afraid."
Then he pressed even harder on the gas pedal.
The car shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
By the time Xu Sanyu came to his senses, they had already left the film studio behind. He looked back and murmured, "It looks kind of scary, like sunlight can't even get in anymore..."
Jing Jiujiu also looked back.
The ghosts that had been streaming endlessly into the studio suddenly paused, as if sensing something, and turned to look at the car. But most of them had lost their spiritual consciousness, so now it was like a large gathering of idiots - however the ones in front led, the ones behind just followed...
Their heads swiveled back and forth, hesitating.
In the end, only a few ghosts followed after them.
Jing Jiujiu muttered, "If ghosts were all this stupid and orderly, the underworld would be too easy to manage..."
By the time the car arrived at Bai Yuhuai's villa, Master Tingyi was already outside to greet them. When those ghosts saw him, they didn't even wait for the master to utter a Buddhist chant before scattering in terror, fleeing for their lives.
Master Tingyi looked at Bai Yuhuai and thought to himself that they had still come back together after all, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Why did you bring some ghosts back with you?"
Master Tingyi had witnessed Bai Yuhuai's abilities before, so he couldn't help but find it strange.
A member of the Cloud Return Sect came out and said softly, "To suppress the power within him, Ancestral Master is wearing a bracelet, so naturally those ghosts couldn't clearly smell his aura..."
Bai Yuhuai spoke up, interrupting the sect member's words. He said, "It's because of Jiujiu."
Master Tingyi was stunned. "Those ghosts took the young friend as their king to worship?"
"Mm." When Bai Yuhuai got to this point, his expression couldn't help but darken again. "They will instinctively crave and be drawn to the aura on Jiujiu's body."
Tingyi opened his mouth, wanting to say something more.
But Bai Yuhuai had already asked in a deep voice, "Where is the evil god statue?"
Let alone Tingyi, even the Cloud Return Sect members rarely saw Bai Yuhuai display his emotions so openly. They hurriedly said, "Ancestral Master, it's still inside the formation. This way please, Ancestral Master."
They crossed the threshold.
Now Jing Jiujiu could see the appearance of the Ancient Castle Evil God up close with his own eyes. Looking at it this way, it really was identical.
If it could take human form.
Standing next to Bai Yuhuai, it would probably be hard to tell them apart.
The evil god had no physical body. It could only emit a muffled sound: "You have finally seen each other." Its eyeballs rolled, glowing red: "Bai Yuhuai, Ancestral Master of the Cloud Return Sect, Zhuo Wu... I am you, and you are me. You cannot refine me. They cannot refine me either."
Bai Yuhuai slowly walked closer.
Perhaps the eyes of the evil god statue were made too small, or perhaps it was placed too low, but it didn't clearly see the cold indifference on Bai Yuhuai's face.
Maybe it did see, but Bai Yuhuai always had this demeanor, so it didn't make much difference in its eyes...
The evil god's eyes turned.
It even glanced smugly at the fake four-faced Buddha statue.
This thing couldn't escape the fate of being refined.
But it was the incarnation of Zhuo Wu.
The evil god looked at Jing Jiujiu: "You like Bai Yuhuai so much."
The first half of the sentence made Bai Yuhuai's expression slightly better.
The evil god continued: "Then you should like me too, shouldn't you?"
This sentence immediately made Bai Yuhuai's face darken again, even becoming colder.
Xu Sanyu: "..."
You're practically dancing in a minefield, damn it!
Bai Yuhuai lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Bai Feng, take Jiujiu outside first."
Bai Feng was the old lady's name.
The old lady responded with an "Ah."
Jing Jiujiu paused for a moment, then followed Bai Feng outside.
The Ancient Castle Evil God seemed to sense something, and its tone suddenly changed: "What are you planning to do?" "Are you going to refine me yourself? I'm a part of you! I am you!" "Aren't you going to ask Jing Jiujiu outside? Do you want him to watch as you erase this identical face?"
It said many things in one breath.
Bai Yuhuai remained unmoved. He slowly took off his bracelet.
From afar, the sound of wailing ghosts reached the evil god's ears.
"Jing Jiujiu is also a ghost... aren't you afraid of accidentally killing him too?" By the time it said this, the evil god's voice had completely changed due to fear and panic.
"He's not a ghost, he's a god. Didn't you see on the day those people stole the god statue?" Bai Yuhuai lowered his eyes and calmly asked in return.
"He's still only half a god... he's still half ghost! You'll kill him, you'll kill him..." The Ancient Castle Evil God ranted furiously to this point, then suddenly paused. It seemed to realize something unbelievable and exclaimed in shock: "You gave him your [censored]? You... you..."
The old bachelors of the Cloud Return Sect outside listened with flushed faces.
Tingyi bowed slightly and sighed: "Amitabha."
Jing Jiujiu paused, curled his fingers, and couldn't help but peek inside.
Indeed, he didn't feel any discomfort...
Inside the room.
Bai Yuhuai's lips finally curved slightly, and he softly responded: "Mm."
But soon, the corners of his lips pressed down heavily again, his expression icy cold.
As joyful as the previous day had been, seeing this thing reveal its true form the next day was equally disgusting.
"You killed my Jiujiu." Bai Yuhuai coldly lifted up the god statue.
Looking at the identical face, he showed no signs of being moved or softening.
The evil god squeezed out a voice that sounded like gritted teeth: "Are you going to kill me too? Kill a part of yourself? If Jing Jiujiu hadn't died, how would he have met you? You would never have encountered each other in this lifetime. How do you know this wasn't predetermined by fate? I'm just a catalyst pushing destiny forward!"
"Why don't you ask Tingyi first if all of this was planned by Zhuo Wu thousands of years ago? You can kill me, but can you kill Zhuo Wu? Can you kill yourself?"
"If you must blame someone, blame the Jing family's greed. People in this world are just like that! If he hadn't become a ghost, he might have become a filthy human anyway..."
The evil god's words were cut short.
With a "bang," there was a sound like porcelain shattering.
Bai Yuhuai's slender fingers rested on the statue's neck, and with one forceful squeeze, he crushed it.
An extremely powerful force suddenly rippled outward from the center of the villa.
Tingyi's expression changed slightly, and he began chanting incantations repeatedly.
Xu Sanyu looked up in terror.
The sky was enveloped in a golden light that pressed down on people's backs, making it almost impossible to breathe. For a moment, the wind and clouds surged, and faint screams seemingly from hell could be heard.
Tingyi murmured: "How strange, what exactly is Mr. Bai trying to do?"
Through the glass window, Jing Jiujiu could only see Bai Yuhuai's tall, straight figure, his posture sharp and powerful. As for the rest... he couldn't even hear the sounds clearly.
A member of the Cloud Return Sect said in a low voice: "When immortals become saints, why do they only discard their impure energy? Because it comes from the same source. One cannot kill one's own impurities."
"But it's not entirely impossible."
"The ancestor's blood," he said.
The statue housing the Ancient Castle Evil God shattered into pieces.
It transformed into a wisp of energy, darting around in all directions, but was leisurely caught by Bai Yuhuai, who tore it apart bit by bit, soaking it in blood.
An evil entity is, after all, an evil entity.
It began to wail, each shattered piece of its body struggling and screaming, as if simultaneously suffering the torment of being dismembered and having its bones ground to dust.
"You dare to covet Jiujiu, hm? You're not worthy," Bai Yuhuai's face was pale, but still expressionless. At this moment, he looked less like a god or Buddha and more like an asura. He paused, "I really do want to kill Zhuo Wu."